Woman&#39;s handbag



E. A. INGRAM WOMANS HANDBAG Dec. 23, 1952 Filed March 21, 1951 IN VEN TOR. ELIZABETH ,4. /N6/?AM Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WOMANS HANDBAG Elizabeth A. Ingram, Cincinnati, Ohio Application March 21, 1951, Serial No. 216,747

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to women's handbags.

An object of this invention is the production of a womans handbag having a hidden compartment.

Another object is to provide a handsome womans handbag adapted for use with street or evening wear.

Another object is to provide a woman's handbag having a pair of concealed receptacles adapted to protect valuable and personal items from public scrutiny when the handbag is open in normal use.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the following detailed description, and the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a handbag embodying a form of the invention, a part of the handbag being broken away, and

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken on a line IIII L of Figure 1.

Throughout the drawing and the detailed description, like reference characters indicate like parts.

Womens handbags have a tendency to lay their contents open to public view, when opened. On occasions when valuable jewelry or money, particularly of large denomination, is carried, dangers often result. Exposure of such valuables to view in public places often leads to injury or damage or both at the hands of thieves. At other times a woman may be embarrassed when personal items contained in her handbag are exposed to public view. I have devised a handbag which has a top compartment intended for such usual items as cosmetics, keys, small amounts of coin and currency, and similar items and concealed bottom compartments intended for valuables and personal items.

I have illustrated a form of handbag, embodying my invention, in Figs. 1 and 2. The handbag illustrated is provided with a cover or outer member l which may be fabricated from materials well known in the art, viz: velvet, cord or other cloth, leather, plastic film or the like, in the following manner. A suitable piece of the material desired is selected and a substantially rectangular cover blank is cut therefrom. Two opposite edges of this cover blank may be finished by turning and stitching a hem 2 along each edge. The hemmed blank is then shirred. I prefer to use an elastic thread in taking rows 4 of shirring stitches parallel to hems 2 in spaced single rows or multirow groups. Eight pairs of said rows 4 are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The rows 4 adjacent hems 2 are spaced therefrom to provide ruflled portions 3. The edges of the hemmed and shirred blank which extend transversely of rows 4, are joined by seaming to form an expansible tubular unit which may be flattened. Opposing sides of the unit are stitched together by means of a row of stitches 5 substantially centered between hems 2 and concealed by one or more rows 4 to form a cover I. The row of stitches 5 is preferably taken with elastic thread and completes the ruffle-ended expansible member I having two oppositely, outwardly opening pockets 6 and l. A cover I may also be fabricated from a length of tubular material by hemming and shirring operations similar to those already described.

Fastening means, such as slide fasteners 8 and 9, are secured in the mouths of pockets 6 and 1 respectively at the shirred edge of each end ruflle for closing the pockets. The end rufiles substantially conceal fasteners 8 and 9. A lining I0 is secured in pocket 6 by the stitches securing slide fastener 8 as shown in Fig. 2. A lining II is secured in a similar manner in pocket 1 adjacent fastener 9. Lining II is provided with an aperture closable by a semi-concealed slide fastener 12 disposed therein.

Pocket 6 is intended for the usual class of items which a woman may choose to carry in her handbag. Pocket I is intended for valuables and personal items. For example, personal items might be placed in pocket la and large denomination currency in space I. A detachable hand grip I3 is attached to the trolley of fastener 8, for identifying the general purpose pocket.

If appropriate materials are selected for cover 5, a handbag as is illustrated serves as a basic item of apparel to which pins or other decorations may be aflixed in temporary or permanent fashion. The detachable hand grip may be of a material and color which harmonize with the remainder of the users costume.

In the foregoing detailed description and the drawing a handbag has been described and illustrated, but it is to be understood that other forms of handbags of various sorts may be constructed in accordance with this invention and the invention is not intended to be limited by the foregoing detailed description and the drawing except as set forth in the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or changes may be made without departing either from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Therefore, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A handbag comprising a tubular outer memher, a row of stitching across said member to divide same into a pair of outwardly facing pockets, a plurality of spaced rows of elastic shirring stitching extending circumferentially of said member and spaced from the ends thereof to form an annular ruffle about the mouth of each pocket and to gather the portion of said member disposed between the gathered edges of said ruflles to provide decorative concealing fullness and substantial resistance to folding whereby said pockets are made expandible, at least one of said spaced rows of elastic shirring stitching being disposed in close spaced relation to said first row of stitching for concealing same, means for closing each pocket, said means being disposed adjacent the gathered edge of the annularv concealing rufile about the mouth of each re spective pocket, a lining in each of said pockets extending inwardly from the means for closing 20 Number same, therebeing an aperture in t least one of ELIZABETH A. INGRAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,360,044 'Stember Nov. 23, 1920 1,476,697 Dwyer Dec. 11, 1923 2,063,850 Nemeth et a1 Dec. 8, 1936 2,086,326. Goldberg July 6, 1937 2,413,465 Ohlsen Dec. 31, 1946 2,569,241 Klein Sept. 25, 1951 2 ,581,029 Knee Jan. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date 641,614. Germany Feb. 6, 193-7 

